Survival
by akai-ookami
Summary: Bakuten Boarding Academy...a school of beyblading...a school called "Jigoku Boarding School" by the students...Kai and Tala will soon find out why...R&R!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

I lay there on my bed stiffly, not moving a muscle. My arms were comfortably crossed under my head, and my legs were crossed at the ankles. I stared blankly at the ceiling thinking about practically nothing. I looked over to my roommate to see him lying on his left side with his left arm tucked under his head. Then I began to scan the rest of the room we were in. It wasn't fairly big or small. I could see the faint outline of the door in the darkness in the left corner of the room. Next to my bed was a small table with a lamp and a digital clock on it. Did I say 'my' bed? I should have said 'our' bed. That's right there is only one bed in this room for my roommate and I. But I don't mind sharing a bed with him. We have been friends since childhood. We have always stuck together much like now.

I scanned the rest of the room and then spotted our built-in closet in the right corner. That's where we kept our uniforms for school and other articles of clothing we wanted to hang. Our other clothes are obviously in the dresser. As I thought about the dresser, I wiped my head around toward the lone dresser. But it's not really alone since there is a picture hanging right above it. The picture was of my roommate and I.

Right outside the window that was to my left in the corner, opposite of the door, the moon peeked out from behind the clouds and its silver light dimly lit the room up just a bit. Just enough light to let me see the picture. But of course, I looked at the picture many times before to know what it looked like. It showed my best friend and I when we were younger. It was a day when the people at the orphanage let the children, as well as us, play at the park. Yeah, you heard me right. My friend and I are orphans. Our parents died when we were really young. I don't remember my parents much. Only the important memories like their smile, face, laugh, and a little bit of their voice. But all these memories are starting to get hazy as the years pass by.

I don't know if my friend remembers his parents. He doesn't talk about them that much. I tore my gaze away from the photo to look at my companion. Sometimes, I see this melancholy and distant look on his face whenever we see a child with his or her parents somewhere in public. I could tell he was thinking about his parents at those times. It's kind of obvious if you ask me. But now he has this peaceful and serene expression on his face.

'He must miss his parents a lot,' I thought sadly. The only things I know about his parents were how they looked and how they died. My friend's father had flaming red hair and deep blue eyes. He was also tall and strongly built looking. His mother had aqua hair and the same color eyes. She was kind of on the short side and had the gentlest touch. They died in a fire. My friend never said how their house caught fire. I'm not sure he even knows.

Now, I bet you are wondering what my parents look like. My dad had slate blue hair and crimson eyes much like my own. He usually had this serious expression of his face. But deep down, he was a nice and caring person. He was tall and always kept his head up. My mom had dark blue hair and peach color eyes. She always had a smile on her face. She never let anything keep her down. She could probably light a dark room with a smile as bright as hers. I remember the day they died. It was a rainy day. They both had to go to some business meeting since they both worked in the same building. They had to leave me with a babysitter since they didn't have any relatives around that area or maybe not any whatsoever. The meeting ended late at night. By then there was a big thunderstorm while on their way back home. Their car swerved out of control when they turned a sharp corner. Neither of them survived the crash. These memories made my eyes looked toward the picture once again.

Anyways, about the picture. It was a picture of my friend and I when we were about eight years old. That day at the park, it was a bright sunny day. There was also an ice cream cart strolling around selling ice cream. I was actually smart enough to bring money that day. It seems my parents left me some money in a bank account before they died. Lucky for me. I decided to treat my friend and I a little treat. One of the workers at the orphanage just happened to walk by with a camera when we bought our ice cream cones. She was taking pictures of the other orphan kids playing. Now, she wanted to take a picture of the two of us. Both of us were like 'what the heck?'

In the picture, I'm crouching slightly with my knees bent, my right hand on my right knee, and my ice cream cone in my other hand, stretched out in front of me, almost like asking any person looking at the picture to take a bite of my ice cream. I was wearing baggy navy blue shorts with a black T-shirt and sneakers. My friend was at my right side with his left slung around my neck tightly. He had his other arm high in the air above his head and ice cream at hand. But if you looked carefully, you could see that a little bit of my friend's ice cream was starting to drip from its cone. He was wearing khaki shorts with a royal blue T-shirt and sneakers. Inscribed at the bottom of the picture was a promise. Our promise. I'm not exactly the type to make promises. I am always asking myself this particular question when it comes to making promises: What if I break the promise? That's why I don't really make promises. But this promise was an exception. The promise said this in neat handwriting:

"Tala and Kai: Best Buds Till The End"

This promise I know I won't break. We've been friends far too long for this friendship to end. Now, I'm beginning to remember how we first met.

**Flashback**

I was sitting alone in the corner of the playroom of the orphanage trying to draw a picture of what I thought was a 'dinosaur'. I heard the door open and the owner fo the orphanage came in with a young boy about my age.

"Alright kids gather around," the owner called out to everyone in the room. All the kids began to stop what they were doing and were scurrying about and gathering to where the owner was waiting with the young boy. I too stopped drawing my 'dinosaur' and joined the other kids.

As I got closer, I took a good look at the boy. He almost looked kind of funny if you asked me. His clothes were way too big for him. His shirt was so big that one side kept falling off of his shoulder as he attempted to keep it from falling but failed miserably. His pants were so big that they covered his shoes completely. His hair was what caught my attention the most though. He had brilliant flaming red hair that was spilt in the middle of his head. The hair was separated at that spilt and stuck outward on both sides of his head. He also had two stray strands of hair hanging loosely in front of his face. He was standing there, with wide aqua eyes, innocent looking with this scared and nervous expression on his pale face while his index finger on his left hand was in his mouth and his right hand was clinging tightly the skirt of the orphanage owner.

"We have a new friend joining us. His name is Tala. Now, I want you all to be friends with him and play nicely. Tala, why don't you say hello?" the owner looker encouragingly at Tala as he looked up at her with a frightened look of his face. He reluctantly pulled his finger out of his mouth and looked shyly at the kids. He looked everywhere else besides the children present in the room. Nervously, Tala looked and everyone and looked down at the floor, having a sudden interest in it as everyone stared at him expecting something.

"H-He-Hello," he said just barely above a whisper. There were some responses of hello back.

"Very good. Now, Tala, I'm going to leave you here with the rest of the other kids. I will come back later to come check up on you. And remember play nice kids," with that said she was out the door. The other kids started to return to what they were originally doing. I too returned to my 'dinosaur' drawing.

When I finished my drawing, I looked up to see the new boy still by the door. But this time he was sitting on the floor with his legs huddled up in his chest. His tiny arms were wrapped tightly around his legs with his face in his knees. I looked around the room and saw that no one was really paying attention to the new boy. I gazed back at the boy and say that he was shaking slightly. I thought he could be crying. I scanned the room around the room again to find that everyone was still doing what they were doing. I made up my mind and started to walk towards the new boy. I don't even think he noticed me until I tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped, startled a bit, and looked up at me teary-eyed. My suspicion was right. He indeed was crying.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked with my voice filled with concern. He nodded his head slightly but just barely. He was still hiccupping from his earlier crying as he wiped his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. After he finished wiping his tears, he looked back up at me with a face that held nervousness. "Hey, you don't need to be nervous or anything. My name is Kai. Your name is Tala, right?" I questioned making sure. He gave me a bigger nod this time as a response. He looked a little at ease with my friendliness. Tala wasn't crying, shaking, or hiccupping anymore. "I'm Kai. Come on, want to come play with me?" I asked him as I stretched out my hand for him to grab. He looked at my hand then at my face then back to my hand then my face again. He finally yet reluctantly took my hand.

"Sure," he said as I pulled him off the floor. Then, hand in hand, I led him to where my finished drawing of a 'dinosaur' was...

**End of Flashback**

I smirked at the memory. I will never forget that fateful day. But that memory also made me remember how I got into the place I'm in, in the first place. If you're asking, no, I am no longer at the orphanage anymore. Now, I'm recalling what happen a few days ago.

Well that's it for chapter one. Please R&R!!

akai-ookami


	2. A letter? From who?

author's note: ok this is the second chapter. its kinda crappy. but i did my best! but i kinda liked it too and i hope those who are readind will too! and i'll like to thank those who reviewed.

**GabZ**: glad you loved the chapter! to be honest, i'm not sure if there will be yaoi in this story. but if someone requests a yaoi pairing then i'll see what i can do.  
**hellspawn**: thanx! i hope everything is in order in this chapter too.  
**Reiven**: glad you like the chibi Tala and chibi Kai scene! i loved it too. i kept thinking how adorable they were. ahh! i killed you! calls doctor, gets those electric things whatever they are called CLEAR! BZZ Reiven comes back to life YOU'RE ALIVE! lol  
**Star-Serious-Laser: **gomen nasai! sorry that i confused you on who was talking. but it was Kai who was talking and it will be his point-of-view in this chapter as well. sorry again that this update wasnt that soon.  
**Tai-writer: **so glad you like the picture! i loved it too. sorry this update wasnt that quick. gomen nasai!

disclaimer: i don't own Beyblade so...stay away lawyers!

now on with the chapter and enjoy!

**Flashback**

"Go Dranzer!"

"Go Wolborg!"

A blue beyblade and a gray beyblade clashed together in the center of the dish. Sparks flew as they kept pushing each other back, trying to get the upper hand. I was getting really exhausted from this battle. Sweat rolled down from my forehead and onto my nose. My breathing was getting really ragged from this long battle Tala and I have been at for a good while. I was also getting extremely hot and not just from the heat of battle. Oh, no. The sun was practically baking me. It was making it even harder for me to concentrate, not that I showed it, of course. My black muscle shirt and my red shorts were not helping me either in this heat. I'm not sure if any of this heat was affecting Tala, but if it was, then he was hiding it pretty well. His breathing was as ragged as mine though. So I guess that's a good sign that he's at least exhausted.

Our beyblades kept attacking each other never stopping for a second. I was really surprised that this battle lasted as long as it did. This was probably one of the longest battles Tala and I ever had with each other.

"Come on, Dranzer, keep attacking!"

"Don't let up, Wolborg!"

We had stopped using defense a little while ago. All we were using was absolute force.

"Flame Saber!"

My blue beyblade jumped high into the air and hovered for a second then began to fall down at top speed and erupted in flames. I was using all my strength for this one final attack. The flames from my blade were making me sweat even more. In front of me, I can see Tala looking calm. Then his lips curved up into a smirk. I knew what was coming next.

"Blizzalog!"

The beystadium was enveloped in a raging blizzard. The icy cold wind bit at my warm skin. It was almost refreshing because I was so darn hot from this heat. But I couldn't relax now. I had a battle to win.

Ice and fire clashed, as did our beyblades. The blizzard turned into a tempest of ice and fire. A few shards of ice brushed pass my face and left a few scratches. But I gave them no attention. All I wanted to do was to win this battle even though it was for fun in the first place.

Our blades kept pushing against each other. One of them would get the upper hand, but then the other would push back at twice the force. It was actually getting irritating just watching them. One of us had to win at some point.

The blades separated by the energy force they were creating. Like a huge energy wave. The storm stopped and out the dish flew our beyblades. Both of them were smoking literally. I carefully picked mine up. I examined it and found that I would have to repair the defense ring and attack ring. But other than those parts, my blade was totally fine. I sighed with relief. My eyes wondered over to Tala to see how he was doing.

He seemed to be checking if his blade was okay as well. I saw a smile creped onto his face and looked over to me and gave a slight nod to a question I haven't even asked yet.

We both started to get up from our kneeling position on the ground. For me, it was slightly difficult. That battle nearly drained all the energy I had. But of course, I didn't show that it was difficult. I can't afford to show any signs of weakness at anytime.

When I finally stood tall on my feet, I took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off my face with the sleeve of my shirt. I took another deep breath trying to calm my breathing. I looked over to Tala to see how his condition was. He looked fairly okay but he was always good at hiding his emotion. So right now, I'm not exactly sure.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just need to rest a bit is all," was his response. "What about you?" he asked obviously concerned with my condition as well.

"Just peachy," came my very dry reply. I saw Tala smirk in amusement.

"Man, that was a really long battle wasn't it?" Tala stated the obvious. "I'm so tired. I think I should sleep here in the park tonight," Tala whined while letting his arms hang heavily.

"Yea, then we would be in deep shit when the orphanage finds out that we didn't come back at the time we were supposed to," I said in as a matter in fact way. Tala started whining some more, but I didn't want to listen to his bellyaching. My eyes started to survey the park we were in. We were in an isolated area of the park. It was sort of like our own secret hangout. We even stashed some supplies like a small first aid kit, non-perishable food, and other needs like that in a trunk of a tree. The park was actually well taken care of. It had lush green grass and trees, a water fountain with crystal clear water, a few gardens scattered in a few places here and there, and it was really dirty from littering. Yea, it was a nice park to kick back and relax. I didn't even realized I was staring into space till I noticed Tala franticly waving his arms in front of me trying to get my attention.

"Kai! HELLO! Earth to KAI!" Tala was...screaming very loudly in my face. "Kai, wake up! Have you gone deaf and blind all of a sudden! Are you ignoring me or what?" Tala was now shaking me fiercely.

"TALA, what the hell are you doing?" I screamed back in his face. He stopped shaking and yelling immediately. I could feel this irritated look slide on to my face slowly. Tala blinked. Then blinked again.

"I thought you died on you feet or something," Tala stated quite relieved to know I was alive and kicking. But I will kick him if he ever did that to me again. Yes, that's a promise. And I will keep that promise too.

"Well now you know I'm not dead. Now am I?" I raised my eyebrow.

"No, I guess you're not. Hehehe..." Tala laughed dumbly while scratching the back of his head. "So, I take it you didn't hear what I said?" Tala questioned.

I raised my eyebrow again to tell him I didn't hear what he had said.

Tala sighed irritation. "I asked if you could get a bite to eat somewhere. So, can we?" Tala asked in an almost pleading manner. Then all of a sudden, I heard a quite loud sort of growl nearby. "See my stomach agrees with me," Tala said patting his obviously empty stomach.

"If you and your stomach are that hungry, then let's go," I said, starting to led the way out of the isolated area. Tala's stomach growled again as a response. I started to chuckle at his hungriness. Tala pouted at first but then joined in my laughing.

oooooo000000000000oooooo

It was almost 4:00 PM when we finally decided to come back to the orphanage. Tala and I don't like to hang around the orphanage because there was nothing to do, and the little kids kept bothering us. Being sixteen years old with a bunch of kids from ages three to twelve isn't exactly what I call enjoyable. The owner was nice enough to let us wonder around town at certain times. Sure I have been their age once, but that's all in the past right? But today I am actually glad to be back. That battle Tala and I had really wiped me out. Of course, that cheeseburger and fries help replenished some of my energy. But right now, all I want to do now is sleep. Sleep. Sleep. Then Tala said something that made me realized we were in the same condition.

"God, I am so tired. I just want to sleep the rest of the day," Tala said tiredly.

I nodded as a response. I led the way to the stairs that led to the bedrooms. About halfway up the stairs, someone called to us from the bottom of the stairs.

"Wait, Tala! Kai!"

Simultaneously, we turned around to the voice. It was Shoji Keiko, the owner of the orphanage. Ever since Tala and I were younger, the owner and us form a bond. It was like a mother-and-child sort of bond. We learned to trust each other and knew what each other were thinking. She would know exactly what to say at the right times. Yet, she knew when we needed space. Shoji Keiko is truly an understanding person. But Tala and I don't call her Shoji-san. Keiko thinks Shoji-san makes her sound old. Which she actually isn't. She is only about 29. When Tala and I first came here, the other owner retired about six years after we came and decided to live a more quiet life without having to deal with all the children. Besides, she was kind of old.

I saw Keiko standing there at the base of the stairs holding what seemed to look like a white envelope.

"This came in the mail for the both of you," Keiko said while holding the crisp envelope towards us, for us to take.

Tala glanced at me with a confused look on his face. I raised my eyebrow and shrugged my shoulders to tell him that I don't know anything about that letter whatsoever. Tala gracefully stepped back down the steps he just climbed. He took hold of the envelope carefully observing it as well. I am absolutely positive that I have no idea who would be writing to us. I don't have many friends. The only people I know and trust is Tala and Keiko. They are all I have as family and friends. I'm sure Tala is in the same position because the only person he ever hangs out with is Keiko or me. We didn't really want to make friends or anything because we knew we had each other.

I stared at the envelope in Tala's hand for a while then I gazed over at Tala's face. He had somewhat a mixture of a surprised and happy expression. I was getting curious and anxious by the minute. Tala's eyes just kept on getting brighter and brighter with glee and happiness by the minute. And I was getting impatient by his staling of telling the mystery writer. But before I could make him to tell me who wrote to us, he charged at me with god-like speed and grabbed hold of my arm and dragged me the rest of the way upstairs and down the hall to where our bedroom lay. But really, I was practically flying through the air at the rate Tala was running.

Just before we entered the room we shared, Tala called over his shoulder, "Thanks Keiko!" Then he hauled me into the depths of our chamber.

Once inside our territory, Tala shut the door and practically threw me across the room onto my own bed. I was a little dazed from that very speedy experience. When I finally got my head to focus, I can see Tala standing right in front of me smiling ear to ear while trying to catch his breath.

"We...they...want...us," he managed to get out of his mouth.

Right now, I was even more confused. Who was "they" anyway? "They" WANT US! WHAT! People, whom I do not even know right now, "want" us, and Tala is happy about it! Okay, maybe I'm thinking the wrong way, but that's what Tala makes it sound like. Right now, I'm starting to get all these different horrible images. Ugh! I shook my head to relief myself of the wretched pictures.

"I can't...believe it. They actually want us to attend," Tala said with his breathing now regularly. "I can't believe they even know about us."

Now, I was getting impatient, anxious, curious, and confused at the same time. Why can't he just spit out that has him so damn happy and excited about!

"Tala, if you don't tell me how sent us that letter I'll-" However, I didn't exactly get to finished my sentence since a big white envelope was shoved right in my face. I took the envelope in my hands and scanned it over the writing that was on it. Of course what caught my attention was the name and address of the sender.

107 Tokyo-to, Kaisen-ku, Haburi

2-chome, 5-ban, 6-go,

BBA

BBA? Didn't that stand for Beyblade Battle Association? I am sure there's a BBA office building in Tokyo, but it isn't anywhere near the area this address is. So exactly what does this _BBA _mean? Now, I can feel myself getting...angry. Angry at myself that I was still confused.

"Isn't this great, Kai! Bakuten Boarding Academy wants us to attend there!" Tala exclaimed enthusiastically.

Bakuten Boarding Academy? So that's what BBA means. I have never hear of Bakuten Boarding Academy. I hang out with Tala all the time. Yet, he's heard of BBA and I haven't? But what is it about this school that has Tala practically jumping off the walls? Wait a second! I think I have heard of this school. Bakuten Boarding Academy...hmm. Doesn't this school have something to do with beyblading? Yea, I think it does. Snap. Now, I remember! I've heard about this school a long time ago. Back when Tala and I were kids. We had just started beyblading. Then we heard about this school and practice non-stop until we thought we were good enough to attend. Only those who are above the average blader were the ones to go to this school. This school is supposed to be the best school for learning more about beyblading and enhancing one's skills even farther than one could ever possibly dream. I have been practicing so much that I must have forgotten why I was practicing in the first place. Man, I'm such an idiot. Wait a minute. Didn't Tala say they wanted us to attend there?

"Hey, Tala, how do you know if they wanted us to attend there, when you haven't even opened the letter?" I questioned slightly confused.

"Why else would they send us a letter?" Tala countered.

I guess that made sense.

"Why don't we open it to see if what you say is really true?" I countered back.

We, both, looked down at the envelope still in my hands. Then Tala took the envelope from me and started to _slowly _open the seal. One minute later. Still opening. Three minutes later. Still opening. Five minutes later. Still opening.

"Dammit Tala! Just open the fucking letter!" I screamed loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear. I could tell the scream hurt Tala's ears because he winced at my deafening yell.

"You didn't have to scream," Tala complained while gently rubbing his throbbing ears. Then he quickly read the letter to himself.

"Hmmm...uh huh...HMMM...ahhh...uh huh...," Tala...uh huh to himself while reading the letter in silence. It was getting pretty annoying listening to him now.

When he finally finished I asked, "Would you care to enlighten me on what the letter says?" I was still holding the annoyed expression on my face.

"All right," Tala confirmed. Then he cleared his throat quite...dramatically.

"Dear Mr. Tala Ivanov and Mr. Kai Hiwatari,

We would like to inform you two that you have been notice for your talents in beyblading. You have been selected to attend our school, Bakuten Boarding Academy, the school of beyblading. We have seen your excellent performance in beyblading. We would also like to ask if you two could possibly be able to come to the school for a meeting; so, we could inform you two more about the school, what you would be doing at the school, and register if you decide you would like to attend. We really hope that you two come to the meeting, which will be held on Sunday afternoon around 2:30 PM. The address to the school is placed on the envelope. Again, we would like to congratulate you two on your skills as beybladers.

Sincerely,

Tatsujin Shuryou

Headmaster of BBA, Bakuten Boarding Academy

and that's the end of the letter," Tala finished while folding the letter neatly back to the way it was and placed it back it the envelope.

The letter seems friendly enough, but something smelled foul. It sounded like they really wanted us to attend at that school. I can't put my finger on it. Oh well, I guess it must be my imagination. I'm being paranoid for no reason. I shrugged that thought off.

"I'm sure I already know the answer to this question. But do you want to go to this meeting of theirs and check out the school?" I asked not at all surprised that Tala nodded his head vigorously. "All right, I'll go too. I have nothing else better to do," I confirmed. I could already see the excitement in Tala's eyes. I knew he couldn't wait till Sunday, which was two days away from now. But now, I could feel myself getting anxious as well. Of course, I wouldn't show like Tala is now.

ooooo00000ooooo

thats the end of this chapter. ohhh, what did Kai sense when he finished hearing the letter? can anyone guess? come on! guess! please review!

a k a i - o o k a m i


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